Review Messenger, June 13, 2012 • Page 12

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It used to be that the American dream included owning a home with a yard and a white picket fence. Now the pendulum seems to have swung dramatically in the other di-rection. Post housing bubble burst, some Americans are beginning to re-think the conventional wisdom that owning a home is a good in-vestment – even though declines in home prices have made purchasing and owning one somewhat more af-fordable. Homeownership levels peaked in 2006 at nearly 70 percent of Ameri-cans, according to the U.S. Cen-sus Bureau. That number has now dipped to 65 percent.1 The numbers indicate that depressed home values in most markets, combined with historically low interest rates on mortgages, have made home buy-ing more attractive. But that’s only one consideration, as many found out during the housing market bust. Home ownership is a great deal if you know you’re in a position to settle in the same place for at least a few years and can continue to afford the payments. Unfortunately, these circumstances can be unpredictable. When deciding to buy or rent a home, financial considerations are important, but lifestyle issues should also be taken into account.Financial considerations Many financial elements favor home ownership, particularly if you live in a market where home values seem reasonable. Today’s favorable loan interest rate environment is an-other plus, and current laws still pro-vide major tax incentives for those who carry a mortgage. Beyond those factors is the appeal of building up equity in the home – meaning that the money you put into making the purchase will eventually be returned to you when you sell the property. Yet these benefits should be tem-pered by other considerations. Tak-ing on a mortgage obligates you to live up to the terms of the loan for years, and homes typically require a significant investment in main-tenance and occasional improve-ments. And when it comes to a home as an investment, there’s no guarantee you will be able to sell your property for more than what you paid for it. Renting is a realistic starting point for most. As your savings grow and your credit score rises, you may be in a position to qualify for a mort-gage and make the leap to home ownership. But choosing the right time to buy is important - you need to feel secure that your sources of in-come will be there for the long run. The downside for those who con-tinue to rent is that any money put into their living space – whether for rent and related fees or for upgrades to their rental property – is not an investment, but an expense. While a homeowner may have an oppor-tunity for some kind of return on money put into the property, renters won’t receive any payback.Lifestyle considerations Personal traits and current life cir-cumstances are other considerations as you assess the option of renting or buying. Homeowners should be up to the task of maintaining their own property. That includes everything from lawn work to minor home repairs. It also means having the fi-nancial ability to pay for profession-als to do occasional work, including plumbers, electricians and carpen-ters. Renters, on the other hand, typically enjoy a more maintenance-free lifestyle. Another issue is the need for mo-bility. Those who are quite certain they can count on their job being in the same area can feel more com-fortable making the jump to home ownership, provided they can afford it. Those who expect to be on the move for a job change or education-al opportunities in the next three to five years may appreciate the relative mobility they have as a renter. What’s right for you? There is no “one-size-fits-all” an-swer to the question of whether you should own or rent your home. A good starting point is to honestly answer questions such as: •Are you comfortable with yourcurrent life circumstances and in-come stability? •Areyoudisciplinedinmanagingyour expenses and paying off debts on a timely basis? •Areyoufairlyconfidentyouwon’tbe required to move to another city or area in the next five years for per-sonal, work or education purposes? A “yes” answer to all three may point in favor of home ownership, but it isn’t a decision to take lightly. Consider working with a financial advisor who can help you work through your financial situation, de-fine your goals and determine what kind of mortgage you can afford while still keeping your other finan-cial and lifestyle goals in mind.

### Zachary J. Kreklau, CFP® is a Fi-nancial Advisor and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practi-tioner with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. in Wadena, MN. He specializes in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 6 years. To contact him, call his office at (218) 631-4096 or visit his office at 104 Jefferson Street South, Wadena. 1 Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey, Series H-111 Reports, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233. Advisor is licensed/registered to do business with U.S. residents only in the state of Minnesota. Brokerage, investment and fi-nancial advisory services are made available through Ameriprise Fi-nancial Services, Inc. Member FIN-RA and SIPC. Some products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions or to all clients. © 2012 Ameriprise Finan-cial, Inc. All rights reserved. File # 138370

Sound financial advicefor your retirement

Zachary J. Kreklau Associate Financial Advisor with the practice of Michael H. Craig, CFP®

Craig & Associates A financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. 104 Jefferson Street South Wadena, MN 56482 (218) 631-4096

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC.

Call (218) 631-4096 today.

To Own or to Rent - Recalculating in today’s housing market

Zachary J. KreklauCERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner

What Purse Goes with aFifth Degree Black Belt?

At age 70, Lolita Myers of Nimrod recently received her fi fth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Here she is in her dobok, or uniform. – Photo by Jan Jackola

By Jan JackolaIf there were any dark al-

leys in Nimrod, this is one lit-tle old lady no bunch of punks would want to mess with in one of them.

Lolita Myers recently be-came a Fifth Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Back on May 18, Myers was tested by Grand Master Cindy Brandt, from Bemi-dji, who is a Seventh Degree Black Belt Triple Master.

Myers is 70 years old.

Back in 1983, when she was 52, Myers saw a man put-ting up a poster on the bulletin board at Down Home Foods in Wadena, where she worked at the time.

Myers walked over to him and said, “I am your fi rst stu-dent.”

At that point in her life, Myers was home alone a lot; her husband was a truck driv-er. She had watched Kung Fu movies when she was young, and always had though it

would be cool to know Tae Kwon Do.

Lolita earned her First De-gree Black Belt when she was 55, and then opened her fi rst Tae Kwon Do school at her home near Nimrod.

Today she owns three schools. After outgrowing the space at her home, she closed the bookstore she had been running in Wadena and opened a Dojang in that space. She now has additional schools in Perham, holding

those classes at the Perham Community Center, and in Pelican Rapids, in a basement room at the VFW. Collective-ly, they are know as Mid-Min-nesota Tae Kwon Do Schools.

Tae Kwon Do is Korean, and when directly translated, means, “the art, way, or path” of kicking and punching.

Myers said it is much more than that. It is something one can do all their life, for their health; it gives a positive out-look on life and to allows one to have goals.

The fi ve tenets of Tae Kwon Do are courtesy, integrity, self control, perseverance and in-domitable spirit. Myers said these tenets go along with her Christian beliefs.

Physically, Tae Kwon Do develops strength, speed, bal-ance, fl exibility, and stamina.

At the Black Belt level, one can begin teaching TKD, but must work under a higher level person. Myers worked under Grand Master Cindy Brandt, who has tested both Myer and her students.

Now that Lolita Myers has attained the Fifth Degree level, she can move out from under her mentor and work alongside her. With each de-gree, the Master gets more re-sponsibilities, but Myers said the move from Fourth to Fifth degree resulted in a big jump in duties; she now has to cre-ate her own handbooks for her students, among other things.

Myers said anyone can do Tae Kwon Do; “can’t is not in our vocabulary [at her school].”

She said it is a way of ex-tending yourself, and learn-ing that you can accomplish something.

Myers said the biggest chal-lenge she had when she start-ed TKD was a bad hip. She had suffered with hip prob-lems since she was a teen. Though it can still give her problems, TKD has helped it tremendously, rebuilding the muscles around the hip.

When she started TKD, Lo-lita wondered how she could learn all there is to know to earn a black belt, but said it’s a step-by-step process, much like being a baby – fi rst they learn to roll over, then to crawl, pull up, take a step and then fi nally, they can walk.

Lolita Myers said when she was young, she said she would never wear a uniform and never work at night.

Never say never.Now she is doing both –

and loving it. She said the only negative side to teach-ing is that she doesn’t get the same workout as before.

One of her favorite students was an “80+” year-old student from Sebeka, Ruth Miller. When Ruth started Tae Kwon Do, she couldn’t stand on one leg. A few years later, before she died, Ruth could do 360 degree jumping kicks!

To potential older students, Myers said TKD gives them a goal, a chance to interact with younger people, and a reason to laugh and have fun.

“I wouldn’t give it up for anything, I feel so good af-terwards! I have more energy, and more desire to do things,” said Myers.

To her fellow senior citi-zens, Myers says, “Get out of your rocking chair and join us!”

Have a Red Hot Time at Red Eye River Days(Continued from Front Page)roars to life at noon on Satur-day. The event is sponsored by the Sebeka C&C. For more information contact Kenny Hames 218-472-3419 or 218-539-0062. Cost is $10 for ages 13 and over; $6 for ages 6-12; and children 5 and under are admitted free.

Kids can have a bouncing good time on the infl atables south of the Fire Hall from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Registration for the Kiddie Tractor Pull is at 4:00 p.m. at First Avenue SE behind the Fire Hall, and the event be-gins at 5:00 p.m.

Then, viewers can enjoy the Kiddy Parade at 7:00 p.m. The kids will line up for the Kiddie Parade at the Senior Citizens Center.

The celebration’s main event – the annual RERD Pa-rade – will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Main Street. Everyone is invited to dance to the music of “Cut Loose” during the big street dance that will follow the conclusion of the parade.

A Community Worship comes alive at 9:00 a.m. near the Sebeka High School ten-nis courts. Bring a lawn chair and share in the worship.

The Seventh Annual Kids’ Triathalon will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the City Pool for con-testants ages 7-18, teams or individuals.

Sebeka American Legion Post 456 will host a BBQ

Dinner from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and Bingo will be played starting at 1:00 p.m. Pig Races

For wholesome family en-tertainment and a snortin’ good time, you won’t want to miss the RERD Pig Races at the Sebeka Park at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Get a good seat to watch the piggies go wee-wee-wee all the way to the fi nish line.

The famous LA Racing Pigs – all the way from Leader – are coming back to town for this now-regular stop on their circuit. The Sebeka C&C is still looking for families or businesses to sponsor the rac-ers; the fee is $45 for a pig. If you are interested in being a sponsor, please contact Bill Richard at (218) 837-6323 or (218) 544-0088. Sponsors get free admittance to the event!

Guess the Weight of the Rock Contest

The Sebeka C&C will spon-sor Guess the Weight of the Rock during RERD. A huge rock will be placed in Town Square, next to Ted’s Hard-ware.

You can register your guess at the bank in Sebeka, at Er-nie’s Market, Ted’s Hardware, J’s Family Restaurant or Se-beka Lumber Sales.

Each person is limited to fi ve guesses. The person with the guess closest to the actual weight will be awarded $100 in Sebeka Bucks. If more than one person guesses the correct weight, the prize amount will be divided equally.

The winner will be an-nounced at the Sebeka Lions pancake breakfast at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Three Menahga High School students involved in FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of Amer-ican) competed in “STAR” events at the state meeting and have qualifi ed to advance to the National Leadership Conference to be held in Or-lando, Florida, July 7-13. Sa-mantha Acuff, Brianna Paul-son and Bailey Yliniemi are the students qualifying for the national conference.

Samantha and Brianna made a video and posted it online about distracted driving in the traffi c safety category, while Bailey made a dress using cof-fee fi lters in the Recycle and Redesign category. The na-tional conference will provide valuable information that will be brought back to our school and communities through workshops and trainings, in ar-eas of leadership, career explo-ration, preparing for college, youth violence prevention, traffi c safety and other current issues effecting teens today.

Menahga’s FCCLA Chap-

ter is proud of this major ac-complishment, as it has been several years since anyone from Menahga High School has qualifi ed. These students are very excited to represent Menahga in Orlando and bring home a medal. This will be the fi rst time for all attend-ing to go to Florida, so this

will be the trip of a lifetime our students will never forget.

The local FCCLA chapter has been working very hard all year long raising funds to compete in regional and state meetings. The national com-petition requires new fundrais-ing efforts. It is up to chapter offi cers and members to raise

funds to cover the cost of the trip. The cost for the Menahga students to compete in Orlan-do is close to $1092.51, per student. The school district does not fund any out-of-state trips or events. FCCLA mem-bers are hosting several fund raisers and would appreciate the communitiy’s support.

If you have any questions or would like to donate or volunteer, please contact Joy Rippentrop, FCCLA advisor, at: (218) 255-2268 or Trish Samuelson, fundraising coor-dinator, at: (218) 255-0751.

If you have any questions or would like to donate or volunteer, please contact Joy Rippentrop, FCCLA advisor, at: (218) 255-2268 or Trish Samuelson, fundraising coor-dinator, at: (218) 255-0751.

Proceeds from the two fund raisers will go towards air-fare, hotel accommodations, conference and competition registration fees, meals and possibly some sightseeing.

If you are unable to attend these events and would like to help support these students, you can send your donation, in any dollar amount, to:

Menahga Public SchoolsPO Box 160Menahga, MN 56464Please note in the memo:

FCCLA Florida Trip. All do-nations are accepted and very much appreciated.

Menahga Students Advance to FCCLA Nat'l. Conference

Pictured, l-r, are Bailey Yliniemi, Samantha Acuff and Brianna Paulson.